Learn About Metairie Louisiana
Metairie, Louisiana is the heart of Jefferson Parish and is the first suburb of New Orleans. Due to its proximity to New Orleans, Metairie shares its rich culture and has participated in long-standing traditions such as Mardi Gras. Technically, Metairie is not a city but an unincorporated area within the parish. French settlers came to Metairie, then known as Tchoupitoulas, in the 1720s. Metairie’s development can be traced back to a road created by the Acolapissa Native Americans from a natural levee formed by Bayou Metairie which is a branch of the Mississippi River. This became Metairie Road once it was paved in the 1920s. The town that was built around this road is now referred to as “Old Metairie”. Development expanded after World War II in the north and northwest of Old Metairie, but the city did not see rapid growth until the 1940s. This rise in development came after cypress swamps between Lake Pontchartrain and Metairie Ridge were drained, creating a newly habitable area.